The Snake and The Canary
by Jack Knights
Summary: In a world where friends and foes alike fight each other for other people's enjoyment, Samus Aran is sick of the constant battles. And Snake's ever growing interest in her isn't helping any. SamusxSnake, may eventually contain some more adult content.
1. Introduction and Chapter 1

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Hey guys! Long time no see! I've been absent from for how long now? xD And then the first thing I post in forever and a day is this, of all things._

_So yeah... I just sat down one day during summer and decided, "I am going to write a SamusxSnake fanfiction." I spent like seven hours fleshing out the backstory to Brawl that wasn't the Subspace Emissary, and then a couple more getting the dynamic down. And then that day turned into four, and before I knew it I had written 40,000 words of something that I originally intended to be a one-shot of stupid, stupid slash fiction. I don't even know why I did this, I don't "ship" this particular couple really and if not for Brawl, I would have never thought to do so any way. _

_But, after sitting on this for two months and wondering if I should just keep this to myself or show it some people, I decided to let the entire internet read it :P So, here you go! Enjoy it, if you can._

_-Jack Knights_

_PS: In case any of you were wondering in the slightest just what the hell is happening to my other FF "Conquering the Past"... that's been put on indefinite hold. I've decided to turn the entire thing into a completely original work and possibly get it published at some point. And since it had little to do with LoZ or Twilight Princess as a whole, I saw no reason in continuing it as it stands. Sorry about that!_

* * *

An endless cycle of short, unfulfilling battles. That was what Samus Aran had signed herself into doing for the past four years, with no end in sight. Constantly fighting against friends and foes, sometimes even animals and children; it wasn't what she'd wanted for herself, but it kept her on her toes while the Space Pirates and the GFS fumbled in the dark. At least, until things got so bad she got sent out there to sort them out.

There were thirty-four other fighters of varying ages, genders and species in the facility besides Samus. Some were friends, others foes. They each had a bedroom on the upper floors and had full access to the other myriad of facilities and even the other arenas when they weren't being used. Not that any sane person would bother after getting clobbered multiple times throughout the day.

Their schedule was pre-established every day in the morning and depended on whether or not they were called on to fight. The thirty-five contestants would get up in the morning, eat a quick breakfast, and go down to the lobby where the day's "brawls" were announced. They'd then spend the day fighting—or if they weren't summoned, doing whatever they liked.

But that was the issue. The place had been designed to be entertaining, but for the crowds of people that would come watch them beat the living crap out of one another. There was little else to do aside from fighting. There were some outdoor grounds, a library and a few other things, but Samus found herself, more often than not, bored out of her mind, wandering the halls without anything to do. Whenever she wasn't fighting, that is.

A few of the other contestants that weren't used to fighting were going stir crazy. For example, the blond kid, Lucas, was a nervous wreck, forever drawing on the walls in his room. But most of them were well enough off, and there were few conflicts between them. Except when the villains got involved; then all hell broke loose.

Samus had been managing well enough for the four years she'd been fighting for other people's entertainment. Unlike most of the other, she was used to long periods of constant back-to-back conflict, going quite some time without a break and fighting for her life. But even the greatest soldier needs a chance to step away from all the wars and she was starting to feel the drag all the battles she'd fought pulling on her mind.

* * *

Like every morning, they convened in the lobby. Some people sat in the chairs and sofas strewn about the place, other leaned against the wall, too cool for conversation. Samus merely stood, arms crossed, in the center of the floor, waiting for the day to start.

Most of the fighters showed up already in their costumes. Some of them actually wore the outfits they fought in daily, like the princesses. Samus herself was dressed casually in jeans and a shirt, nothing crazy or fancy. Her Power Suit was too much too lug around all day, and there was no way she'd walk around in her Zero Suit. Lecherous eyes followed her every move even now; there was no need to give them more incentive.

Peach sat with Mario and Luigi on a couch, chatting amiably, looking like a child playing dress up in her pink gown and makeup. Samus knew otherwise; she was anything but. Peach might appear frail and ill-suited for combat, but she had developed a mean streak quite early on and could pack quite a punch within her dainty looking hands.

Zelda sat across from them, completely prim and proper, hands folded in her lap and her back perfectly straight. She too was a deceptive fighter. Her magic was brutal and when she became Sheik, she was every bit the underhanded ninja she appeared to be. Link stood guard behind her, scanning the room for threats; the poor guy had never gotten used to the idea that his princess could fight.

The underage fighters sat in the far corner of the room, acting like children and making a ton of noise. Seeing them always made Samus shake her head; children shouldn't be involved in fights like these. Directly contrasting them were the villains, who just walked in like they owned the place: Ganondorf, Bowser, Dedede, Wario and Wolf. Even after so long, their heroic counterparts still stiffened whenever they walked in the room

Some of the fighters didn't even bother joining the others, only appearing in the arenas when called to battle. They were mostly high tiered characters, with a couple of loners. Samus might've been fairly high up on the list at number twelve, but she made it a point to come down to the lobby every day. For her, it was a show of her strength and courage, making herself known to her possible opponents, not like the ever aloof Meta Knight who had hardly ever been seen outside an arena.

As the room filled up, out of the corner of her eye, Samus spied something surprising. Snake, dressed in his light grey sneak suit, was squatting on the floor, a cigarette between his lips as he looked at the ceiling. It was a rare occurrence to see the soldier out and about. Sure she saw plenty of him in the fights—they were two of the most popular brawlers—but this was the first time in months Samus, and probably the rest of them, had seen him.

His dark eyes fell on hers and she stared him down. Samus had been blatantly staring at him, as had several other people, but she wasn't about to look embarrassed about it. No weaknesses, she reminded herself as she narrowed her eyes at him. His upper lip twitched and he turned away first, but not before Samus caught the slight smirk on his face. He no doubt thinks I've been checking him out, she thought acidly as she let out a huff of annoyance.

The man was a pervert and a creep. He might think his codec calls he received periodically during fights were heard by him only, but the opposite was true. Everyone heard, or saw onscreen, his so-called private calls. Yoshi, the poor, strange, green… dinosaur thing, was absolutely terrified of him. And Samus herself wasn't charmed by him any either. A certain lecherous, womanizing call had given everyone endless gossip in the first few months, and despite the apathy everyone seemed to be suffering from, they would still bring it up every so often to annoy the living shit out of her.

And he hadn't said a word in his defense either. She approached him about it, with the intent on coercing him to take back what he said, and failing that, blackmail him with it. But he welcomed her attempts. And when she tried to beat him to a pulp, he let her land a single swing before incapacitating her. It was like Snake wanted to be known as a depraved unhinged individual.

The main screen in the lobby winked to life before Samus could delve into her foul mood any further and the announcer, a man dressed in black, half hidden by shadows, appeared on the television. Everything about him, from the constant smile both in his voice and on his face to the perfectly pressed black tuxedo he always wore gave Samus the creeps. She didn't know why he bothered doing this, giving the same damn speech every day. They just wanted to find out the match listings for the day and get to it.

"Good morning, brawlers!" he said cheerily. When he was met with perfect silence, like he had been for the longest time, he continued on without missing a beat.

"It is time, once again to see who among you will be the lucky participants in today's matches! And they are as follows," he added, a chart appearing to the right of him, with names and arenas assigned to a time stamp. "Good luck to those of you fortunate enough to participate and until next time for those of you left out! The first match begins in twenty minutes! Brawlers, suit up!"

The announcer disappeared from the screen and the chart filled the emptiness. Everyone was in relative quiet, scanning the day's line-up, hoping their names hadn't been chosen. Or Ganondorf's case, grinning wickedly when he discovered he had.

"We'll see who the better swordsman is today," he said, all but pointing at Link, who narrowed his eyes at him in silence. She didn't know why he bothered taunting the guy in green; he was dead last in tier rankings and Link always beat the daylights out of him. Some people just loved the abuse, she figured. When most of the participants had gotten their schedules, Samus stepped up and scanned the screen.

She had come to accept a long time ago that she was a regular, and wasn't the least bit surprised when she popped up in first match of the day. And while it annoyed her, she practically _expected _to go up against Snake and Ganondorf. She did, however, groan inwardly when she appeared on seven of the twelve total matches planned. With a shake of her head, she calmly marched out of the lobby and down the halls to the locker room to suit up.

When she left the lobby and headed to the lockers, she noticed Snake eying her. He nodded at her once, grinning crookedly as she rounded the corner. Creep.

* * *

_And here you have it, the introduction/first chapter to the ridiculousness that is this fanfiction. I don't exactly know what the final rating for this is going to be, but I'll leave it at T for Teen for now since the upcoming chapters deal with violence and slight swearing. If I do eventually get to sex(ual content), then I'll bump the rating up accordingly. Just FYI, you know._

_Anyway, let me know what you think, where I made mistakes-grammatical, punctual, cannon-wise-and whether or not you actually want more of this. I'll post the next two chapters regardless to give you guys a broader feel for it._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Hey! I hope I haven't frightened off any of you yet :P So here's chapter 2 and the first of many matches Samus and the other characters will be involved in. The story won't revolve around them (the fights, that is), but rather focus on the characters, if you haven't figured it out yet. I still don't know why I'm doing this at all other than the fact that it might give me some laughs and a better insight into developing characters. _

_Anyway, if you want more, then tell me! There should be one more chapter posted after this one so you guys can get a taste of what this is about, other than the SamusxSnake bit. Just let me know what you think and thanks for reading regardless!_

_-Jack Knights_

* * *

For once, whoever requested her performance, as the announcer put it, didn't want her to start off in her Zero Suit. It was a small blessing, but it didn't lighten her mood. Halfway through putting on her suit, a chill crept up her back and she frowned as the all too familiar smell of tobacco wafted around her.

"Snake," she said mildly, eyes narrowed as she looked over her shoulder at him. He casually rested a shoulder on the row of lockers behind her, cigarette in his lips. "This is the girl's locker room. And despite lingering doubts, you at least _appear _to be a man. Get out."

"Not quite yet," he said, his voice like gravel. It made her groan at how overdone it sounded. "I figured since you were checking me out in the lobby, I'd return the favour."

"Finally decide to grow a pair? Were you hoping you might catch me naked?" she said icily as she slammed the locker closed.

"I've seen you in that tight getup enough times to imagine it. It leaves _very_ little to the imagination."

Her left hand, the one not encased in a massive energy cannon, shot out and struck him in the gut like a freight train. He'd no doubt expected her to slap him, maybe go red in the face with embarrassment. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of pushing her buttons the right way. No, she'd fight him like a man, like the man he claimed to be.

Snake doubled over, arms around his stomach as he gasped for air, cigarette hitting the floor. With a booted foot, Samus crushed it beneath her heel and reached for her helmet.

"I hope I didn't crack a rib with my fist," she taunted him, a rare occurrence for her. "Wouldn't want you to be at more of a disadvantage than usual, right?"

"Ha," he guffawed, grinning at her. "Even in the suit of armour, you still hit like a girl."

Not even bothering to answer him, she placed the helmet on her head and locked it in place. Looking more like a titan than a woman, she slapped him on the back, causing him to swear in pain and walked out.

"Good luck, Snake," she said to him. "You're going to need it."

* * *

As the battle was being set up, she decided to check the rules set for the map on a whim. Everything appeared to be normal; five lives, last man standing, no special modes. Apparently several items were allowed, including the infamous Smash Ball, which made her grin behind her visor. Her Zero Laser was one of the most over powered specials in the tournament. If she could grab it, Samus could one-up the competition. That was until she saw the arena selected.

Typically her fights took place in the Final Destination arena, or the "Killing Floor" as some had called it. It was the ultimate place for a display of skill, tactics and manoeuvres. And so, when it turned out that their fighting stage was to be the near deserted constantly moving stage Mushroomy Kingdom, she frowned. Even her opponents were annoyed by this.

The fact that the arena constantly moved to the right meant that if she used her Zero Laser while on the left, she'd get kicked off the stage when her armour froze after using it. Which meant this match was going to be, quite literally, a race. She stole a glance at Ganondorf and found that he was actually sweating. His slow speed was going to hinder him. Oh well, he'd be an easy opponent to pick off.

It turned out the fourth member of their brawl was going to be a random character announced at the start of the fight and Samus frowned as she stepped onto the glowing platform that would take them to the arena for the fight. Snake got into the one next to her, avoiding her gaze completely. She briefly wondered if he was still in pain and whether or not he got looked at before the fight. Then she decided she didn't care and they were off.

* * *

The fight started off with a bang. Literally. The fourth participant was revealed to be Lucas and he went into the fight like a savage. Just as he was releasing a PK barrage on Ganondorf, a Bob-omb fell from the sky and landed in the middle of his attack, detonating instantly and sending the two fighters into oblivion. She paused, hoping the kid was alright before she remembered Snake was lurking around just as he tackled her from behind.

He scrambled to his feet and jumped backwards a few feet, hand on his side. He looked both furious and in pain and Samus felt the barest twinge of guilt in her gut at having hit him beforehand. Then she aimed her cannon at his head and shot a missile at him. He managed to blow it up with one of his own and save himself, but not from the shoulder she barrelled into his chest, sending him flying. By then Ganondorf and Lucas had showed up again and she was too preoccupied keeping to the right and dodging both of their attacks to worry about it anymore.

Samus managed to take an early lead, but Snake was closing in behind her. After she'd shoulder charged him off the stage, he'd gone on the defensive, dodging almost every attack and avoiding every hit any of them threw at him. She knew he was bidding his time and so kept an eye on him as he moved around the stage. It was difficult, keeping track of the moving stage and her opponents, and random items that fell from the ceiling. Before she knew it, Lucas stole first place from her with a well-aimed kick she hadn't seen coming.

Ganondorf was the first to lose his five lives, a fact he was going to bitch about for a days, or until he won a match against Lucas, whichever came first. By the time she'd managed to get Lucas down to his last life, the Smash Ball still hadn't showed up and Snake managed to take the lead. Getting tired of how long the fight was dragging on, she picked up a crate and aimed it at the kid as he was sent Snake flying with an explosive bottle.

Unfortunately, it didn't do anything besides direct his attention back onto her and she lost her second last life when he forced her into the far left corner with his fire bolts and she fell off the arena. Snake and Samus dropped back into the arena and they were all suddenly down to their last life. Having to deal with a master tactician like Snake and a crazy powerful—emphasis on crazy—kid, as well as trying to keep moving to the right, she found herself at a disadvantage.

Dropping to the defensive, she avoided Lucas's blows with barely enough room to breathe, barely able to damage the kid at all. For every blow she managed to connect, he'd get three in and damaged her worse than she did to him. Worse still, she couldn't see Snake anywhere in the stolen glances that cost her dearly. Before she could even spare a thought Lucas rained more attacks down and she rolled to the right, placing bombs on the ground as she went.

Suddenly, as if the very arena itself wanted the match to end, there was a flash of blinding light and the crowd gasped. The Smash Ball appeared and floated down into the arena. Lucas threw fire bolts at her, causing her to jump even further right as the glowing ball went left and towards the kid. He aimed a kick and a PSI filled punch at the orb and she grimaced. One more hit and he'd be able to call down a meteor shower that was going to prove impossible to dodge given the stage.

Quickly calculating the ball's movement, she jumped in the air, lined up her arm cannon and fired a missile. It soared across the stage just as Lucas made a grab for the Smash Ball. His jump fell short and he missed, but Samus's missile didn't. The impact shattered the orb and a rush of power filled her suit, causing it to overload. Grinning behind her helmet, she landed on the far right and didn't even bother to take aim and just fired to the left.

The massive Zero Laser erupted from her arm cannon with such force that her bones rattled. Her visor went white as the attack swept across the arena, obliterating everything and everyone in its path. She faintly heard Lucas's scream as he was shot violently off the stage over the roar of the laser and sirens going off in her ears as her suit overheated.

The power drained just as suddenly as it came and her suit shut down. Slowly the dead parts of her suit started to fall off, but not quick enough. Momentarily unable to move, she looked about for Snake, but found the arena in front of her empty. Which could only mean that Snake was—

"Behind you," he said gruffly. Scrambling for her Paralyzer pistol, Samus whirled around in time to see him with a bat in his hands, charged up and ready send her flying.

"Sorry about this," he muttered in apology as he brought the bat down, swinging at the side of her head. It connected solidly with her jaw, or it would have if helmet had fallen away. Still, it struck her with enough force to send her clear across the arena with her brain rattling around in her head.

* * *

_End Chapter 2! As you can see, the story will be told mostly from a third person character point of view from Samus's side of the story, but other characters, (not limited to Snake), might have a part here and there to break up the narrative and keep it from getting stale. As always, point out any mistakes I may have made and all criticism is welcome!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Notes:**_

_What's up guys? Hope you've been... interested, at least, in what I've given you so far. This is the third and final part of the buffer I'll be posting all at once, a nice hearty chuck for you to read and digest and hopefully figure out whether you like it or not. If you do and want more, let me know! And if you don't and want it to stop (because at this point, SamusxSnake FF has to running rampant) then feel free to tell me too!_

_Either way, thanks for reading, faving, sharing, whatever else you may do and I'll see you soon(?)_

_-Jack Knights_

* * *

Her failure to win her first match of the day left a bitter taste in her mouth and Samus was unable to concentrate on the other fights she had throughout the day. She had been brash in the use of her Zero Laser and it had cost her. Her hotheadedness had made her reckless. Her only thought at the time had been to immediately remove the threat Lucas's Final Smash presented and she had completely forgotten about how sneaky Snake was.

Her anger, at herself, at Snake, at the whole damn system, carried on to the other matches and she was unable to concentrate, barely managing to scrape up fifth place overall in the day's match-ups, while Snake remained at number one. Seeing his picture well above hers on the ranking charts at the end of day had her seething. If it hadn't been for his exceptionally dumb luck to find a baseball bat and dodge behind her Zero Laser, he wouldn't have stood a chance.

Dinner that night was unbearable. Halfway through their meal in the communal "mess hall" the Pokémon and the other nonhuman creatures broke out into a fight and trashed the place. Nobody had done anything, other than egging them on until Olimar and Pit got into the middle of it and dragged them away while the others watched with suppressed sighs.

Fights like those, between the Pokémon and whoever manages to piss them off, were frequent. And wasn't always because of something someone said to them. Lucario had a short fuse and would pick fights with anyone. The immense patience he'd had at the beginning frayed quickly at being forced to fight daily against opponents like Ness and Mario who thought it unfair and cruel to have to beat up an animal. And the Trainer, Red wasn't any better. He lost his eagerness after he noticed how ferocious people fought against his Pokémon.

Everyone seemed to be spiralling into a fit and the constant battles without repose was making it worse. It seemed that the only unaffected fighters were Kirby, Meta Knight and Dedede. Samus chalked it up to them being simple minded and narrowly focused on things like food and swordsmanship. Of course, none of the other villains seemed fazed by it any, but they were evil for a reason.

After the Pokémon had been sedated and the last of the diners who hadn't gotten their fill were directed to a cafeteria, things didn't improve much. Ganondorf was _livid_ at having lost to a child—Link was oddly ecstatic at that, which was annoying—and was taking it out on everyone and everything. It didn't help that he'd been nursing his ego on a wine bottle or three during the day. Apparently he'd destroyed his rooms—again. The man was an even worse drama queen than Princess Peach when she was feeling patronized by all the men.

It was nights like these when Samus wished she could eat alone in her room.

And then there was Snake. For the second time that day, he surprised the room by actually showing up instead of lurking around in the shadows. And what's more, he wasn't wearing his sneak suit. Snake wore dark blue jeans, a maroon t-shirt and a brown jacket. If not for the ever present bandana, he could have passed for an average Joe you might see on the street. Snake walked across the room and took a tray to the line where Luigi was mulling over getting spaghetti or fettuccini. The muttering began soon after and Samus tuned most of it out as she rolled peas across her plate.

When he took a chair across from her instead of going to eat alone at one of the empty tables like she assumed he would, Samus ignored him, stabbing at the little green vegetables with her fork. When the others started whispering about her, she ignored that too, squishing them viciously with the flat of her utensil. She managed to block him out when he spoke to her too, just about ready to get her cannon and blast the plate to high heaven. But when his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist, she just about lost it.

"What do you want?" she hissed at him, yanking her arm back to her side. She knew he was gloating, that he genuinely enjoyed messing with her, but sometimes, you just had to hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

"I was just wondering what the peas did to deserve you wrath," he said smartly, watching her from beneath the cloth around his brow.

"I was imaging they were your head," she sneered, picking one of the survivors of her ire up. "Small, soft, squishy… they're exactly like that thing attached to your shoulders.

"Ouch. That was mean.""Like you give a damn what others think about you," she rolled her eyes at him, grabbing her tray and standing up. She threw the whole thing in the trash and looked back at him, eyes narrowed. He looked back at her just as calmly.

"The next time you decide to sit at my table, that'll be you in there and not some mushy peas," she said, loud enough for the others to hear. Her eyes roved the people gathered, daring them to say a word. Several of them knew she followed through on her threats and remained quiet. She stormed out and back to her room.

* * *

After an absolutely fitful night's sleep and a tense breakfast devoid of Snake's presence, Samus was ready to get back to normal. Or at least some sense of normalcy, given the endless battles. They gathered in the lobby like they did every morning and waited for the announcer to say his practiced speech and get on with the day.

It was surprisingly peaceful for once. Peach was reading an old magazine and Zelda hadn't shown up yet, so the usual chattering was gone. Ganondorf was hung over from yesterday's drinking binge and was in no condition to stir up trouble for once. The kids and the Pokémon were each doing their own thing and best of all, Snake was nowhere to be seen.

The screen flashed to life and the announcer did his thing, his overly enthusiastic happiness hardly scratching at her nerves at all and then he was gone and the matches were shown for the day. Samus's eyes travelled down the list until she reached her name. Surprisingly she only had one match today. Which was odd, considering how many people came to watch her fight.

Even stranger was the fact that it wasn't a user requested fight. This was an official ranked match that would affect how her life outside the ring. If she won, she'd get certain privileges; if she lost, she'd lose some of the ones she had. Considering her hard earned place at number twelve, she could stand to both gain and lose a lot. And she saw who her opponent was, she nearly flat out refused.

Goddamn Snake.

Samus realized she had two options. She could forfeit the match, which wouldn't change her ranking since she'd be losing to the number three spot who could only go up—and push her down—if he challenged the monkey or Meta Knight. Of course, Snake could always forfeit the match, but that wasn't going to happen. Norfair would freeze over first. Her other option was to accept the challenge and tempt fate.

Snake was difficult to beat, but she'd done it once. A four-way brawl with Smash Balls had resulted in Marth accidently KOing himself while Snake flung Kirby off of the stage. Down to one life each, it had been just the two of them, no damage, no Smash Ball in sight. The fight had lasted forever until he'd tripped—and Samus took no mercy in blasting him into the sky with a Charged Shot.

It had been a cheap shot, but a win was a win. She could have just as easily tripped up herself and that would've been a loss for her, but she hadn't and she'd won. So it was possible to beat Snake one-on-one. Nigh on impossible, but still doable.

There was one other thing to consider, and it was what closed the argument for Samus. The match was a setup. Clearly the higher ups, whoever the hell they were, had heard of how Snake had chased after Samus in the past. They must have seen yesterday's scuffle as a potential "lovers' spat" and since the audience loved that kind of drama, they were going to wring it dry for cash. Snake wouldn't back down, no matter what she said to him. So, if she backed down, the outside world would think the refusal to fight was because she didn't want to fight the man she loved.

Which was dead wrong and absolutely pathetic.

So her only option was to accept the challenge and take her chances. If she didn't, she'd appear weak, and love-struck, a dainty, stupid blonde woman crazy in love. And there was no way she was going let anyone think that about her. She made to accept the challenge when something occurred to her.

There was an added risk of losing once having accepted the match. Rules stated the winner gets to take one, non-essential item away from their opponent as a trophy. If he won the match, he could take something away that she might need to keep sane. And that thought alone, of not having something to ground her amidst all this insanity, was enough to give her pause.

Then again, what could he possibly take from her that she wouldn't be able to survive without? Samus lived minimally and have little in the way of luxuries. He could always take away her soap or deodorant, she supposed and she'd just pick up another one.

However, if she won, then she could really do some damage. And maybe finally get the creep to leave her the hell alone. Not only could she deprive him of something he might hold near and dear, if she won, they'd bump her up on the list a spot. That would add insult to injury, and she grinned to herself at the thought.

In the end, the risks were minimal if she lost, but Samus could gain a whole lot if she won. The choice was simple, almost painfully obvious. She readily accepted the challenge.

* * *

_As you can, "my" Samus is a bit of a bitch xD And before any of you say anything, (though are you are more than welcome to), let me defend her. In pop-and gaming-culture, she's something of a sex icon in gaming, like Lara Croft. And Brawl didn't help that any by giving her a super-model's body. Samus has never been an airhead, a "sex-on-a-stick" character; she's a strong woman, despite what Other M might say about her. If anything, Other M makes me think of her as an even more independent female. _

_I'm not saying she's a feminist or a stereotypical raging lesbian and that Snake's a chauvanistic muscle head who can't take no for an answer. They're both soldiers who've bled and killed and lost a lot in their lives, so it's only reasonable to think that they hide behind a mask of sorts since the other options are more painful._

_Or you could just go ahead and say I enjoy taking tough female characters and having them break down for the "perfect" man. Whatever floats your boat xD_

_Anyway, go ahead and tell me what you think, point out any mistakes so I fix them ASAP and thanks again for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Well, it seems like some of you are actually enjoying my little story, so I decided to go ahead and post another chapter. If I continue to get support, even if it's just one person, then I'll keep writing. Thanks in advance for reading and doing what you do to support the story!_

_-Jack Knights_

* * *

Immediately after accepting the ranked match challenge, Samus switched out of her clothes and into her workout gear. There wasn't much she could do in the way of improving what her suit could do, but the minute she was out of it, she'd be at a massive disadvantage.

All she'd have at her disposal was her considerable athletic ability and her Paralyzer, which was next to useless, she realized, against someone like Snake. She wasn't weak by any means, but she was still human after all. She bled and bruised like everyone else without her Power Suit. And Snake would lose none of his gear. Not only would he have his physical strength to rely on, which was almost as great as hers, he had a whole arsenal of weaponry at his disposal.

Her only option left then was to try and make that gap between their physical strength as wide as possible. While she'd trained with the Chozo and shared some of their DNA, she could still improve. Her speed was her greatest ally without the suit, and her techniques as well. If she could hone those two—react quicker, jab faster—then she might stand a chance.

Along the way, she ran into Fox and Falco. The two humanoid animals were still strange to her, after fighting against and alongside them for so long. They tried to bring her in to a heated discussion about piloting in subspace and while she would normally offer some input into something she knew so personally, she couldn't spare the time for them.

Samus arrived to find it was already occupied, and by the person she wanted to see the least. Snake was busy at one of the benches, lifting what looked to be about three hundred pounds of weight. He hadn't seen her walk in and she paused at the doorway, waiting for him to finish. After several bench presses, he placed the barbell on the uprights and sat, wiping his face with the towel around his neck. She noticed he wore his bandana even when working out and wondered if he ever took it off.

"Hey," she said coolly, startling him. He regained his composure quickly and got to his feet, standing tall. She wasn't impressed.

"Since when do you come down here?" he asked as she walked across the room, eyeing the various machines.

"Since we have a ranked match this afternoon," she answered, picking up a dumbbell and curling experimentally before placing it back in its rack. She caught him watching her intently and shot him a withering look.

"So you accepted it, huh? That's surprising," he muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "That's pretty ballsy."

Whether he genuinely admired her gutsiness or was trying to push her buttons, Samus couldn't tell. So she scowled at him instead. "Leave," she said simply, point to the door.

"Free country, I can use the same gym you do. And since there's only one," he ended with a shrug. The look she sent him made him grin and he relented. "Don't worry; I was just about done anyway. I'll leave you to your exercises."

"Good."

"Unless you want to join me in the showers, that is," he offered. Snake only just managed to dodge out of the way when Samus hurled a fifty pound dumbbell at him, cracking the wall where his head had been.

* * *

Several hours later, a bell chimed across the speakers, alerting everyone to the match about to begin and she went to put on her suit. Thankfully Snake had taken the hint and didn't barge in on her this time. Ready for the fight, she began emptying her mind like the Chozo had taught her, getting into the mind frame of war. She focused on one thing: winning this battle and putting Snake in his place

Stepping onto the platform, Samus was whisked away to the Final Destination Arena. The countdown began and Snake appeared on the other side of the stage, eyes hooded, watching her. The buzzer went off, the announcer shouted "GO!" and she took off after him, already planning her attacks and how to counter his.

The first few lives were lost to ferocious strikes. Snake lost his first in midair when Samus connected a blow that sent him spiralling down into nothingness. But he got his revenge almost immediately when he threw her off the stage the minute he'd appeared and proceeded to take another of her lives just as quickly. Her damage escalated quickly while Samus only just managed to damage him.

She had to hold on until a Smash Ball appeared, or until she was granted one. Then she was guaranteed to take one of his lives and dodging his attacks would become easier without all the armour. Sure, she'd lose her striking power and he could hurt her that much more easily, but she had speed on her side and intended to use it.

Her prayers were answered when she lost her second last life and reappeared on the arena with her suit buzzing with power and the Zero Laser fully charged. He couldn't beat the power out of her since she'd been given it for losing to him and there was little he could do to stop her. The minute she hit the ground, Samus fired the Zero Laser and blew him off the stage.

The Power Suit fell off her in pieces, leaving her with nothing but her pistol and her wits. Snake reappeared on the stage, still at an advantage and they locked eyes. Now the real battle would begin. He charged at her, catching her off guard when he struck her on the shoulder hard enough to make her arm go limp. She jumped away from him, lashing out with her foot and connecting solidly with his chest.

They continued to trade blows, her quick jabs outnumbering his slower strikes, but doing far less damage than we he managed to land one on her. Suddenly, he backed off and took out a rocket launcher. Seeing her chance, she fired her Paralyzer, hitting him with a fully charged shot. As he shook with the electricity, Samus dived at him, switching her pistol to whip mode and hit him dead center with the long line of plasma.

The electricity ignited with the shock pulse already in him and detonated, sending Snake flying off the stage. The crowd began chanting her name and she grinned. They were even now and the fight could go either way.

"Never take your eyes off an opponent," Snake muttered in her ear as he suddenly appeared behind her, grabbing her wrists and wrenching them behind her back painfully. Just as his other hand came to her throat she broke away from him, leg sweeping the floor, knocking him off his feet. He rolled away and she rubbed her aching shoulders. If she didn't a Heart Container after this, she was going to feel that tomorrow.

Snake yanked a grenade off his belt and pulled the pin, chucking the explosive at her. It was non-lethal, like all of their weapons, but it still hurt like a bitch. It was easy enough to dodge it, and the following two that came immediately after. What was playing at? He continued to throw well aimed grenades at her, forcing Samus onto the defensive.

Instinctively, she brought up the shield they were all equipped with to block the grenade's explosion, severely weakening it. It pushed her back to the edge of the stage and too late did she realize what he was doing. He appeared above the smoke of the detonation, having jumped in the air and was bunching up his legs to kick her out of the arena. She cursed herself when she noticed her shield wouldn't hold up against his attack and let it fall. Gritting her teeth, she took a chance and leaped backwards off the stage.

He slammed into the ground where she'd been a second ago just as she lashed out with her plasma whip and latched on to the edge. With a yank, it pulled her to the edge of the stage and she flipped back onto solid ground. Before Snake could pick himself up off the ground, she grabbed the harness he wore in both hands and pulled. He was heavy, and pretty much dead weight, but she was determined. Heaving him over her head, Samus rolled with his weight, planted both of her feet on his chest and launched him away with all of her strength.

The look of surprise on Snake's face was priceless. Samus scrambled to her feet and prepared for him to whip out his reconnaissance camera and float back to the arena. But when he didn't and was chucked off the stage, she watched him go with a grim smile. The match finally ended and the crowd broke into shouts and applause. Drained, Samus walked to the platform that had brought her into the arena and took it back out.

* * *

_Hope you liked the outcome :) And feel free to go ahead and point out any mistakes I may have made; all criticism is welcome too. And sorry about the relatively short length; it finished off nicely where it did and I thought it was a good place to stop.  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author's__ Notes:_**

**__**_Due to the surprising amount of support from my random readers who actually like this drabble I've decided to go ahead and finish this thing. I try to reply to all of you who comment and encourage me to post more, but some of you don't allow that thing to happen :( So, this is my way of saying thank you to everyone who has read and will hopefully continue to read The Snake and The Canary! You guys rock!  
_

_-Jack Knights  
_

* * *

The usual fanfare followed after the end of a match. Samus was declared the winner and stood for the photos. She was given a score, numbering in the hundred-thousand that would be added to her official ranking later. She went through it all with practiced ease and ignored any questions the people had about her and Snake. When she was finally allowed to leave, Samus noticed he wasn't there. No doubt the media had some questions for him too and she had wanted to see him squirm.

He did appear later that night when the tier list was changed in front of the other fighters. She really wanted to change out of her suit and into something less formfitting, but since she'd won the match in her Zero Suit, that was how her earnings were going to be taken down. At the ceremony, her score skyrocketed and she was awarded eleventh place by the announcer. The others applauded her, while Snake remained quiet, his gaze elsewhere. His apparent unhappiness at losing made her grin internally.

From his place within the screen, the announcer called for one last silence. "As you all know, there is a particular rule amongst the fighters in ranked matches. Whoever wins the match can take one item from their opponent as a trophy. Samus Aran, as the winner of today's match, you are entitled to take something from Snake. What will it be?"

She hadn't given too much thought to what she'd take as her trophy from Snake. He was a heavy smoker, so she could take away his cigarettes and watch him squirm from the lack of nicotine. She could always demand the stash of porn magazines everyone knew he had, but what would she want with those? When the announcer prompted her for an answer she shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet," she said nonchalantly, gauging Snake's reaction out of the corner of her eye. He remained quiet and unmoving, as unreadable as ever.

"Very well then," the man said with irritating enthusiasm. "You have until the end of the week to decide—that's three days from now. If you haven't made your choice by Saturday evening, then you forfeit your right to take a trophy. Understood?"

She nodded and the announcer ploughed through his speech of winning isn't everything, losing isn't the end of the world. The television went black and the crowd dispersed either heading back for their rooms or going to the mess hall, which had since been repaired. No doubt some of the more eager fighters would want some tips or pummel her with questions. She was too exhausted to deal with them and decided to skip dinner in favour of some much needed sleep.

* * *

For the first time since being pulled into the competition, Samus was allowed to sleep in. And yet, she couldn't do it. After struggling for an hour, she threw off the covers and got dressed, joining the other competitors for breakfast. She even found herself among them in the lobby, scanning the screen for her matches. But she had none and she berated herself.

She had only ever participated in one ranked match before, against Captain Falcon and it had taken place on a Saturday during the first few days of the program so she'd never gotten a break. Some of the other, less popular fighters had days off after a ranked match, but she'd never been granted that luxury.

With nothing better to do, she stretched out on one of the couches in the lobby and watched the matches roll by. Link, attempting to both protect Zelda from the other fighters and win the match himself, ended up losing quiet early on. Zelda went on to win the match after a close call with Olimar and his strange little plant aliens that died with a ghostly wail.

Ganondorf had a tag team match with Fox and dragged his partner down with him with his high risk, low return moves and constant life snatching. Most matches with Ganondorf ended that way, which was why he was in last place. In a battle of cuteness, Kirby went on to beat Toon Link, Jigglypuff and Yoshi; it made Samus cringe every time one of them landed a blow.

After watching Peach lose spectacularly in a three-way fight between Pit and Luigi, Samus got bored and took a walk. She wasn't really inclined to explore the facility, although she frequently did when on alien planets. But hearing Peach moan and rage about her match suited her even less. Lunch was going to be unbearable.

Eventually her feet took her to one of the indoor gardens she never bothered with. It was spacious and one could almost ignore the high walls that boxed them in. Curious, she walked along the grass, taking in the scenery. Several large trees grew here and there and every square inch of the ground was covered in plants. Flowers, vines, grass, everything and anything grew there. She also noticed a few Pikmin running around and wondered if Olimar was around as well.

"Hi!" Ness shouted in her face, hanging from a branch by his knees, startling her. "I thought I was the only one here."

"I was just leaving, actually," she said, regaining her composure. He looked at her quizzically, his face going red from hanging upside down for too long.

"Why? You just got here," he pointed out, "unless you've got something else to do, like training."

The face he made at the thought of working out nearly made her laugh. Despite his powers, Ness was still just a kid; he couldn't be older than twelve. She sometimes forgot how young the kids in this thing were.

"No, nothing like that," she shook her head.

"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you like," he offered, dropping to the ground. "I've got nothing else to do either, so we might as well do nothing together. The two of us doing nothing—that counts as doing something, right? It's better than being alone, if you ask me."

She couldn't argue, even if she wanted to since Ness continued to talk without asking for her input. He showed her where Maxim Tomatoes grew among the flowers and the hidey-holes the Pikmin fled into when they got close. He told her how wished he had a bicycle and how there was never anything on TV. He said that the Onett arena was a bad replica of his town and that he missed his friends, but that it wasn't so bad now that Lucas had joined. Samus wondered silently if he missed his parents.

When he showed her what branches to climb to get to the top of tallest tree in the garden, she followed him. From their place atop the world, she could see a distant mountain range and a sprawling forest beneath the peaks, thinning out to plains and eventually leading to a huge lake. She hadn't known that this was what surrounded them. The last she'd seen the outside world, she'd arrived by plane and driven up to the facility in a blacked-out car to keep her arrival secret.

"It's beautiful," she said, watching the wind rustle the trees as a storm brewed in the distance.

"It is, isn't it?" Ness answered, smiling to himself. "I wish I could go out there and explore. It looks like it could be fun."

"Better than staying in here and fighting all day," Samus murmured. He nodded in agreement. Unlike the announcer, whose false smile rubbed her the wrong way, there was something about Ness's childlike eagerness was refreshing. All the other fighters were serious and brooding or obnoxiously loud and boorish. She was glad he hadn't lost his innocence yet and silently wished he never would.

* * *

Even if she had wanted to eat alone that night, she wouldn't have been able to. The minute her feet touched the ground, Ness grabbed her hand and was leading her to the dining hall. They stood in line next to each other and he continually chatted with her. When she didn't blow him off like they expected her too, the other fighters began with their murmurings again.

"Don't listen to them," Ness said, never missing a beat. "They're just words; jealous, mean words."

He led the way through the tables to where Lucas sat with Pit, Toon Link and the Ice Climbers. It was a strange experience, sitting amongst the youngest fighters.

The second she sat down, Lucas began apologizing profusely. At first she was annoyed by it, but when he began to sob, it became embarrassing. She tried convincing him that it wasn't his fault, that he'd only been doing what he was supposed to during their fight, but that only made Lucas all the more depressed. Not even Pit could cheer him up, and he was a freaking angel.

Toon Link and Ness were almost immediately stuck into a heated debate about who was taller and they progressed from there to every possible subject they could argue about. Pit, ever the mediator, tried to break it up, but when the two kids turned on him, he sighed and let them continue.

The Ice Climbers were by far the greatest surprise. Samus had always thought the two were brother and sister, but supposedly they were happily married, and for many years at that. When she'd pointed out how young they were, Nana had laughed and thanked her for the compliment. Apparently they were older than her as well.

She'd never noticed it before, but the other tables were very quiet by comparison. Mario and company, including Link and Zelda, chatted in low tones and almost never cracked a joke. It was usually Luigi who did and he was met with quiet groans every time. Fox, Falco, Kirby and Dedede were livelier, especially when Kirby ended up eating someone else's food.

The villains were the worst; whenever they said anything, it was always an insult directed at someone else and then they laughed maniacally like they were the funniest people on the planet. And then there were the loners, who sat by themselves every night for some reason or another. There was Marth and Ike, sitting in companionable silence, Sonic munching away on a hotdog and Captain Falcon tearing into a steak while Olimar looked sick to his stomach.

Up until then, Samus used to be one of them. She knew how miserable it could be, being alone.

Of course, there were some that didn't even bother to show up. Lucario rarely appeared and Meta Knight never bothered to show his face at all; holding the number one spot meant he wanted for nothing—he probably thought even less of the other fighters. The other animals, like Donkey Kong and Yoshi weren't allowed in the mess hall since the fiasco last year. Now they stayed in their rooms until they were called for a match.

And then there was Snake. He'd randomly show up whenever and wherever he liked. Glancing around, she found he wasn't there and Samus relaxed a little further. He was probably ashamed at losing, let alone to a girl like her.

* * *

_As always, please point out any mistakes I may have made, grammatical, canonical or otherwise. Any comments, criticisms or inquiries are all welcome, so long as you are polite. And thanks again!_


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Sorry about the wait guys, the builders next door tore out my telephone wire and cut off my internet access for three days. It's fixed now though, so have another chapter! Thanks in advance for reading, commenting/reviewing, faving & sharing!_

_-Jack Knights_

_PS: I made a small change to Chapter 3. Second last paragraph read "If she won, they'd switch places on the tier list." It now reads "If she won, they'd bump her up a spot on the tiers." The reason for this was the first five chapters were all submitted at the same time and I went back afterwards and scrapped that particular idea. Sorry for the mix up!  
_

* * *

Samus frowned. Ness was busy again with another fight and as she watched him on the television in the lobby, she found she was disappointed. Not but the fact that he wasn't going to win, but because of some other reason. The sudden attachment to the kid was strange. He'd been around since the beginning but it wasn't until recently that she had actually spoken with him.

Unable to watch him get smacked around by Peach's frying pan, she got to her feet and walked out. She'd asked Peach once, where she kept all those items she randomly pulled out when she attacked and the blonde had refused to answer. Most of the other fighters had bags or carried their weapons with them, but she was still a mystery. And Samus wasn't too inclined to figure it out.

There were always the other fighters that weren't scheduled for a match to talk to, but she didn't want to. Ness had a way of getting her to talk and be active in a conversation, but the others were… dull. They were always wrapped up in their own world. Zelda had been nice enough, but then, she was a princess and taught to be polite. And Peach was notoriously volatile. Samus didn't want or need that kind of stress in her life. Snake gave her enough to last a lifetime.

She found herself climbing the tree Ness had shown her, her mind momentarily blank as she focused on avoid the brittle branches. When she reached the top, the restlessness returned. Was she really that eager to get back to the fights.

Disturbed by the thought, she dropped from the branches, hitting the ground hard enough to jar her knees and trod back inside, unsure of what she'd started turning into.

* * *

Saturday rolled around and passed Samus by before she knew it. She spent the better part of the morning with Ness, helping Olimar grow more Pikmin. It turned, he didn't have an unlimited supply of the little guys and he spent a lot of his time growing more the facility's gardens. While she grabbed for a fat purple one, she wondered idly if he 'd ever considered using pots instead.

Lucas stopped by, bringing them lunch before hurrying off to his match. He still wouldn't meet her eye, no matter what she said or did, but she wished him luck regardless. She eventually left Olimar and Ness, her shoulders and back sore from being hunched over, and went to work out the stiffness with a bit of training.

While there, Captain Falcon walked in and almost immediately walked out again. With a grin, Samus realized he was still, on some level, afraid of being alone in the same room with her. Ever since she'd beaten him that day, took his spot from him and forced him to stitch hilariously placed buttons onto his shirts, the good captain avoided her like the plague. That thought gave her a sort of pleasure that worked so much than the machines.

The speakers chimed, announcing dinnertime and surprising her with how long she'd been training. Not in a hurry, she decided to take a shower first before heading down to the mess hall. Stripping, she turned the hot water on full and let it hit her, scalding hot. The pressure on her back felt great, so much so that she didn't hear the door open, nor the voice call out.

The knock on the stall door startled her and Samus swore.

"Hey, no need to be nasty," a gruff voice from the other side of the door. Her eye twitched, immediately recognizing the man the voice belonged to. "Mind leaving some water for the rest of us?"

"Snake…" she began, her voice dangerously low as she turned the water down lower. Suddenly his hand appeared under the door, glove-clad, offering the soap that had skidded away from her.

"You know what they say, 'don't drop the soap,'" he said smoothly, though she could imagine the smirk he wore. When she simply stared at his hand, he sighed and walked away.

"No games, I'm on the other side of the room," he assured her, and indeed his voice sounded farther away. His sudden change in attitude surprised her.

"Why are you here?" she asked, both frustrated and embarrassed.

"Why are _you_ here?" he repeated back at her. It looked like his attitude hadn't changed _that_ much.

"It's a free country," she replied and she heard him chuckle.

"So it is," he muttered. The sounds of a various belts and clips being undone and dropping to the floor caught her attention and Samus was curious to know if he was wearing his sneak suit and why. The stall about two doors to her left opened and the tap creaked open. What the hell was he thinking, showering while she was still in here?

"Don't peek, I'm naked," he said with just a twinge of sarcasm laced humour. Samus waited until he closed his stall door before she got out, grabbing a towel and quickly drying herself off. She was lacing up her shoes when her eye spied a locker open at the end of the room.

Curious, she wandered over to it and looked inside. A bag lay at the bottom, the tubular sort of athletic bag you'd expect to see in a gym. A pair of pants and a shirt was folded with military precision on top of it and a brown leather jacket hung from a hook.

Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a piece of cloth dangling from the top shelf. Pulling it down, a box of cigarettes came with it. Snake's favourite brand, she realized as she picked them up. Of course these were his things. Who else's could they be? No one else was down there with them.

It was then she realized the strip of blue grey cloth in her hand was the soldier's iconic bandana, the one he was never seen without. She studied its worn texture, surprised to note it was much older than she originally thought. Feeling like the kind of spy Snake said he was, she folded it and placed the cloth back on the shelf with the cigarettes.

As she left, a thought occurred to her. She glanced over her shoulder, back at the locker. She hadn't been able to think of anything to take from Snake as a trophy, but his bandana was beginning to look like a damn good one.

* * *

The official announcement was made that evening. Everyone was obligated to appear in the lobby, including the reclusive Meta Knight. Once again in her Zero Suit, she frowned at the men obviously checking her out. This was the reason why she hated wearing it in public. And since she had to be on her best behaviour for the media, she wasn't allowed to smack anyone around. It was a crying shame, considering how many men in the room were practically salivating.

The other competitors were arranged behind them while Samus and Snake stood opposite each other in the front. They were all quiet, even the villains; it was odd seeing them act like they _didn't_ want to rip everyone's throat out.

The announcer appeared behind the podium and despite several spotlights focused on him, his features were still obscured. Samus briefly wondered how he managed to pull that off before he began his speech with a wide smile.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" he said, arms open wide. "And welcome back to the Super Smash Bros. lobby!"

He went on and on about how the fighters spent their days in the massive, beautiful, state-of-the-art facility, using more adjectives than Samus would have thought applied. He went on to explain why there were gathered there tonight, all of which half the world watching had to know by now. It wasn't as if this was the first ranked match to occur.

"Samus Aran, as the victor of Thursday's ranked match against your opponent, Snake, you have the right to ask one thing of him. Be it a trophy or a condition he must abide by, the choice is yours. But bear in mind that it alter the way he fights, nor can you deprive him of something he needs in order to function.

"If you would both approach the podium and make your decision," he said and they drew closer to center stage. Samus thought back to the trophy ceremony she'd attended when she beat Captain Falcon in her first ranked match. There was none of the humour now like back then, the crowd was silently snapping pictures and recording their every move.

Ignoring them, Samus extended her hand outward, palm up, and spoke.

"Snake, I'll have your bandana," she said evenly. A murmur broke out in the crowd and the fighters behind her shifted in their seats. Snake shot her a look she didn't quite understand. She raised her chin and held her hand level, waiting.

Eventually, he reached both hands up behind his head and undid the knot holding the cloth in place. He stared it for a moment and when he raised his head, she caught that same look in his surprisingly bright blue eyes.

Wordlessly, he handed it over, folding it carefully into her hand. Turning to the crowd, Samus tied it to her arm. Cameras flashed around her as she stood tall, arm slightly flexed. She gave them five seconds before facing Snake again. His eyes bore into her and she felt anxious under his gaze.

"Now then, not only has the lovely Samus Aran," the announcer began again and she frowned at the use of the word to describe her, "taken her trophy, but a recent shift in scores must be addressed. Seeing as she now resides within the top eleven, Samus has won herself a set of deluxe chambers!"

This took Samus by surprise; after the first batch of ranked matches had left the tiers standing as they were, the more luxurious rooms were immediately occupied by the A listers. Unless they'd built an entirely new room, someone had just lost their rooms to her. She felt a twinge of guilt, but she wasn't about to turn them down either.

The announcer continued, thanking everyone for coming and whatever else he always said at the end of his speeches. When the time came to shake hands, Samus took one last opportunity to cement her place. Instead of taking Snake's outstretched hand, she stuck her thumb out and pointed it to the floor.

The room rang out with laughter and Samus only tilted her head up, eyes narrowed at Snake, her thumb still pointing downward. He let his hand fall back to his side and a sly grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. For whatever reason, she'd amused him. Not that she cared.

When they were dismissed, Samus was immediately cornered by the media again who apparently had more question and photos to take of her. She watched Snake go and caught him as he nodded once before walking out of the room.

Despite being assaulted by the paparazzi and their questions and flashes, Samus could only think of one thing. The look Snake had been giving her throughout the entire ceremony. She couldn't be sure, but it had looked… imploring, and sad, and not at all what she associated with the man. And though she was loath to admit it, it scared her more than staring down Mother Brain with empty energy canisters.

* * *

_The Other M references! They don't stop! D: And there will be quite a few more before this is done ;) Feel free to point out any grammar, cannon and/or spelling mistakes and all criticism-so long as it's polite-is more than welcome._


	7. Chapter 7

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Sorry about the almost weeks without a single update! I wrote myself into a hole and had to do a massive rewrite of some of the later stuff. I'm still not 100% happy with what I've got written towards the end of "Act 1" as I call it, but I'll fix that when it comes time to publish it. _

_I'd also like to how glad I am for all the support; it seems I've got quite a few people interested in my little story. So many of you don't allow for replies or are logged in as guests and such, and I'd like to thank each of you personally. I guess this will have to do for now then :)_

_Thanks in advance for liking, faving, sharing and whatnot, and don't forget to point out any and all mistakes I may have made so I can fix them._

_-Jack Knights_

* * *

The next day was a hectic mess of packing up what little she had and moving halfway across the building. Ness had a two matches in the morning, but promised to stop by later—after he'd won, he assured her. A ROB showed up and helped her carry her things to her new rooms. As they walked across the lobby, Samus wondered who her neighbours would be and prayed they'd leave her the hell alone.

When the robot opened the door for her, the first thing she noticed was the smell of wet dog. The second thing was how dark it was. Heavy curtains covered all four walls, which struck her as odd. Frowning, she set about tearing them down. Weirdly enough, the walls were covered in acoustic foam. As she tore them down as well, Samus couldn't help but wonder just who the hell had been the previous tenant and for what reason they needed to sound proof the room for.

After she aired the bed, changed the sheets, washed the carpets and found new curtains to put up on the one wall that was entirely made of glass, Samus looked at the three boxes that contained all her worldly possessions. She unpacked them methodically and carefully, placing them where they had been in the other room.

A picture of the 07th Platoon in full combat gear and another of Adam Malkovich went on a desk in a corner of the room. A small scale replica of her ship, the Hunter IV, sat on her bedside table next to an alarm clock. Her clothes were packed away in the floor to ceiling closet and her bathroom was stocked with practiced, military precision.

Just as she was finished placing the two pillows on the bed, the door was flung open. Samus grabbed for her pistol on the bedside table and whipped around, surprised to see Sheik strolling calmly in.

"Yo," he said, voice muffled by the cloth around his face. He toed the door closed behind him before pulling his hat off and running his hand through his short blond hair.

Thinking about Sheik, as a person—a separate entity to Zelda, gave Samus a headache. She knew Zelda was in there somewhere, she'd seen her _transform_ to and back many times, but it was like a switch flicked in the girl's head. He was completely different from the Crown Princess of Hyrule. Sheik was as impolite, crass and disinterested as Zelda was kind, well-spoken and concerned. Samus sometimes wondered if Zelda suffered from a personality disorder.

"You got one helluva upgrade," he noted, red eyes scanning the room. "Mine are _shit_ compared to yours."

"Sure," she muttered impatiently. It wasn't often Zelda, even disguised as Sheik, talked to her, let alone come into her room. And despite Sheik's… casual manner, whatever it was he wanted to discuss had to be important. Instead of an explanation, Sheik threw himself onto her bed, arms tucked beneath his head and sighed loudly.

"Damn, the bed's better too," he groaned.

"So?" Samus prompted. Sheik looked at her, puzzled and Samus felt her patience thinning. "Why are you here? And why are you cross-dressing?"

"I told you before, it's not cross-dressing. It's a disguise, a transformation done by arcane magic, not makeup and contact lenses," he said petulantly. "Besides, sometimes it's fun to cut loose and not have to act all interested in what people have to say."

"Whatever," Samus waved him off. "Again, why are you here?"

"I thought we'd celebrate," he began. He caught Samus's look of confusion and sighed. "You haven't heard? Have you been holed up in here all day? What about television?"

"Does it look like I've got a television in here?"

"Huh, yeah no," he realized. "What's up with that?"

"Just get to the point," Samus interrupted, growing frustrated.

"Alright fine," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "You've always got to ruin my fun."

He jumped to his feet and pulled off his glove. Bright blue light enveloped him and when it faded, the ninja faded into the princess of Hyrule, the same bored look on her face. "Happy?"

"Why do you even bother dressing up like that? Everyone knows it's you at this point."

"Have you seen what I wear to those matches? It's not easy running around in a corset that hardly lets you breathe when you're sitting down, let alone fighting. And the shoes… but that's not why I'm here," she stopped herself.

"It's all over the news. I knew I wouldn't be the only one who caught that look Snake gave you last night. The public is going mad over it, overanalyzing it down to the last detail."

Samus frowned. "He was just being a baby about it. Honestly, I could have done much worse. Remember Falcon?"

Zelda levelled her gaze at the blonde. "I think Snake would have taken inappropriately place buttons on his suit a bit better."

"That's the point. The guy's a creep who can't take no for an answer. If this is what it takes for him to understand I mean business, I'm fine with it."

"He's slipping up, you know," Zelda said, holding out a portable screen, with match results listed on it. Snake rarely lost, he was number three for a reason. Him coming in second and third was uncommon and against opponents like Peach was unheard of. Something about it didn't sit well with her.

"Not my problem," Samus said, despite the small ball of guilt in the pit of stomach.

"I thought you might want to know the kind of effect you have on him," the princess said as she conjured away the screen.

"I'd rather not be in his thoughts at all," she murmured. "Why do you care about him anyway? This has nothing to do with you," she asked eventually.

"We've all experienced enough suffering to last a few lifetimes. I just don't like to see people in pain," Zelda said evenly as she got to her feet. She didn't know what to say to that, so she led the princess out the door.

"I'll see you in the lobby tomorrow," she said lamely. Zelda paused outside door and studied her for a moment.

"You two aren't all that different," she noted. Just as she was about ask what she meant by that, the clatter of mail and footsteps sounded from the end of the hall and the monarch swore. A gust suddenly picked up and Zelda disappeared with a flash just as Link rounded the corner.

He trotted to where Samus stood with her arm against the door frame, looking exhausted and panting for breath. The hero shot her a look and she shook her head.

"Just missed her," she said and he groaned. With a wave, he started off again and Samus wondered how often Zelda used Sheik to escape her watch dog.

* * *

There was no sign of Snake that morning, nor was he in the lobby when they announced the line-up the next day. Samus briefly wondered if he was still sulking somewhere. Then she convinced herself she didn't care; if he missed a match that was his fault.

Her first match was over quickly and Samus came in a close second. The satisfaction was short lived however when she ran into Snake on her way out. Or rather, he ploughed into her like a freight train. It was strange to see him worked up enough to be actually angry. She would have chewed him out but he was gone before she could mutter a world.

In the lobby, she watched his fight with interest. Without his bandana, which was tied around her bicep, he looked wilder. He fought less like the trained soldier he was and more like a street brawler, taking risky shots and receiving heavy blows.

"He's being risky," Pit muttered to Ike on the other side of the room. The angel boy looked concerned, arms folded frowning; Ike looked much the same. There were murmurs of agreement from the others assembled. Surprised, Samus turned to discover that the fighters all wore the same expression; one of a strange disappointment. The unnerved her far more than the fact that Snake was acting like a rookie.

"And Snake is the first one out," the announcer said, sounding just as surprised as she was. An instant replay displayed his final mistake in slow motion for all to see. He'd dove at an enemy, who easily sidestepped him and proceeded to smash him out of the ring. The lobby was dead silent, save for the televisions blasting sound.

Samus was the first to break the silence. Having had enough, she headed for the doorway that led to her rooms. She felt the eyes of the other fighters on her back as she marched out, but she dared not look at them. Their unspoken questions were enough to leave her doubting herself.

* * *

With her popularity skyrocketing due to her match against Snake, Samus found herself more often than not on the match-ups every morning. Her days were filled with matches that left her exhausted and she fell into troubled sleep that left her feeling worse.

It didn't help any that she was going up almost exclusively against the higher ranking fighters. She wasn't a slacker in any way, shape or form, but she wasn't the strongest nor the fastest. After going up against opponents that much better than her on a daily basis, Samus was beginning to feel the strain.

Of course, she frequently fought against Snake as a result, though they always left her feeling funny when she beat him. The times she gone up against him before, he'd owned the battlefield. But whenever she was in the same arena as him, Snake was like a cornered tiger. He was wild and dangerous, but whenever she got near him, he became extremely defensive.

Things escalated a few weeks later when she'd come back from a particularly laid back matchup between herself, Yoshi and Red, the Pokémon trainer to find her room had been searched through. Not that anyone who didn't live there wouldn't notice. Nothing seemed out of place at a glance, but she found small things had shifted position.

The chair in her room had been left askew, not quite fitting into the space in the desk upon which the photographs of old friends faced towards the windowed wall. The bed had also been remade; it was almost exactly as she had done it. The military precision was there, but the almost obsessive placement of the pillows was off.

When nothing appeared to have moved the following days, she began to doubt her suspicions. Maybe she hadn't been as methodical as she thought. Then she found her drawer left open and the window ajar. And maybe she'd sprout wings and turn into a fairy princess, she thought acidly. Whoever the hell was doing this was trying her patience.

She started checking her things, going through her clothes and whatever else she had. While in the closet, shifting through pants and shirts, she smelt it. At first she thought it was a residue, a leftover from her previous battle. But the smell wasn't coming from her or the clothes she wore. The acidic smell of smoke wafted around her room, almost imperceptible.

Snake, she realized with a frown. After several more minutes, she decided nothing had been stolen and slammed the doors of the closet shut. If he hadn't taken anything, then he had been looking for something, something he hadn't found. But what was he looking for?

He wasn't the outwardly perverted men seen in the media who stole girls' panties. If he was, he would have gotten his fix sometime in the past four years. No, she had recently acquired something, something that was currently tied to her bicep under the jacket she wore.

Sighing irritably, she sat down on the edge of her bed and frowned at the door. Would the man ever leave her alone? She could always report him for trespassing, but what proof did she have? A gut instinct bordering on paranoia. No, if she wanted him to stop, she'd have to take matters into her own hands and resolve this quietly.

* * *

_I can't say when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully you won't have to wait as long for it as you did for this one xD No promises though ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Author's Notes:_**

_Shorter chapter this time around since the next one is HUGE and there's tons of development in it that I didn't want to overshadow what happens now. That will be out on Friday or Saturday, depending on what happens Friday-I may just end up leaving the city for the day._

_Anyway, thanks for reading, faving, sharing and whatnot. Any and all comments, criticisms and opinions welcome, as well as any mistakes you might catch that I didn't. _

_-Jack Knights_

* * *

And so, she began tracking Snake. Outside of the ring, the man was practically a ghost. He was never around when food was served and on the occasion she went down to the gym he wasn't there. She tried to catch him leaving the changing rooms after a match, but he was always gone by the time she got there.

The irony that she'd become obsessed with finding him wasn't lost on her. She kept on telling herself that it was only the way to come to a 'peaceful' resolution, but that wasn't entirely the truth. If what Zelda had said was any indication, Snake was extremely attached to the piece of cloth around her bicep. She found it intriguing and if she ever managed to track him down, she was going to find out about it.

Eventually, when her efforts proved fruitless, she grew frustrated to the point of asking somebody for help. Zelda proved all too happy to point her in the right direction and give her the location of Snake's rooms. Why she knew that was anyone's guess, but did possess the Triforce of Wisdom, so it didn't surprise her all that much.

She began periodically banging on his door when he wasn't in matches. When he didn't answer, she'd yell through the wood. It got irritating to point where Marth poked his head out of his room and yelled at her in Japanese. Probably telling her to shut the hell up or something.

This went on for several days and Samus was beginning to wonder if he didn't have some sort hidey-hole, a dark corner nobody knew about where he went to sulk and smoke cigarettes. So, she decided to threaten him. As smart as that was, which is to say not all, she did so anyway.

"Let me in, Snake," she said quietly, knowing that if he was there, he'd be pressed against the door and listening anyway, "or I'll tell the higher ups you've been throwing your matches."

It was a stretch; she had no proof that he had, and her suspicions could be chalked up to paranoia. Several minutes passed and she continued to stare at the wood of the door. Just as she was beginning to wonder if he'd take the bait, Samus heard Snake curse on the other side of the door and grinned inwardly.

The door swung open, revealing Snake, looking angry and tired. In the gloom of his shadowed room, he looked like a ragged shadow. Everything from his messy hair to his dark clothes made he seem worn and stretched thin. He glared at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was sleeping," he said gruffly.

Samus shrugged. "If you bothered answering any of the dozens of times I came by, then we wouldn't be here, would we?"

"So you're saying it wouldn't have come to blackmail?" he muttered as she pushed past him, going inside. He sighed irritably as he closed the door and flicked on the lights. The curtains were drawn and the bed was slept in, so at least he wasn't lying.

But what caught her eye was how messy the place was. From what she'd known of him, Snake had always been orderly. She watched him as he grabbed a bottle of medicine, shook out three bright green pills and swallowed them dry.

"They're Advil," he said when she raised an eyebrow at him. "So don't go thinking I've got a drug addiction too."

"Hadn't crossed my mind," she rolled her eyes.

"I take it you want something from me?" he said, almost teasingly. If it hadn't been for the underlying annoyance, she would have thought nothing was wrong. As it was, she could easily see that something was.

"Look, all I want is to talk," Samus said and he groaned. He looked just as likely to pass out as he was to punch a hole in his wall.

"Wasn't the first hundred times I didn't answer enough of a hint?" he growled. "I've got nothing to say to you."

"Fine then, I'll do all the talking," she said with a shrug. "Why have you been sneaking into my room? You're looking for something, that much I can tell. But obviously you haven't found it, since you keep coming back."

Snake was deadly silent, scowling like a child being told off for stealing from the cookie jar. He looked like he wanted to tackle her. All she did was glare back, waiting for him to back down. He swore and sat on the edge of the bed, glaring at the floor. Surprised, Samus closed the door and leaned against it, watching him.

"You know why," he muttered eventually, not bothering to raise his head.

"The bandana?" she offered. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously."

"It's just a piece of cloth."

"It's not," he argued. "It's a part of my uniform, my identity."

"Then get a new one. Your old one is looking pretty worse for wear," she added and he looked both appalled and disgusted with her.

"You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me," she countered. He was meeting her with resistance at every turn, but she'd be damned if he was getting away without explaining _something_. He slumped visually, running his fingers through his hair. His gaze travelled to the floor again and a long silence passed between them.

"It was my father's," he began. "He was a soldier, like me. Only a hundred times better. He taught me everything. How to survive wars, fight for what you believe in and to never lose sight of that. And when he died, he gave it to me.

"It's more than just a sentimental piece of cloth," he explained. "It's a reminder, to never forget what was lost, what I've been forced to do by the orders of others. It's the freedom I fight for."

Samus stood, leaning against the wall as he spoke, taken by surprise. Who knew that Snake was such a complex person? She knew he carried scars—they all did—but for him to bear ones that ran so deep. She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach at the thought of making that harder to stand by taking it away from him.

"If it's so important to you, why wear it?" she had to ask. "Wouldn't it be better to keep it safe, away from others?" _Others like me, who couldn't know and would take that away from you,_ she thought grimly to herself.

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "How does that keep his memory, his will alive? To hide something like that is like being ashamed of it. I wear it, proud of the man who gave it to me. Wasn't there someone like that in your life at some point, someone you'd want to honour?"

He reminded her of a certain helmet she'd risked her life for, the helmet of a man who's helped shape her into the person she was today. The helmet that sat in a box at the back of her closet, gathering dust in the dark. She silently cursed herself and chewed on her lip. He was right, damn him, but he was right.

"I'll stop at nothing to get it back," he muttered, looking up at her with his piercing gaze. She sighed and reached into her jacket pocket.

"Here," she said, drawing her hand out and letting the blue-grey cloth unwind in her grasp. Snake stared at her, openly surprised.

"But you won it from me," he pointed out, despite clearly wanting the bandana back.

"Didn't you just say you'd stop at nothing to have it back? Well, I'm giving it to you now, so it won't come to that."

He stared at her, a hundred questions hiding behind his eyes, as he took the bandana from her. Carefully and methodically, he tied it around his head. Even though it cast more shadows on his eyes, the darkness to them faded away. He looked at her again and his eyes became serious.

"Thank you," he said as he got to his feet, offering her his hand. "Guess I owe you one, huh?"

"No, you don't," she said, rolling her eyes as she shook his hand. "Look, obviously, it means more to you than me. Besides, it's not like I need another trophy."

"Thanks," he repeated anyways.

"You can thank me by stop hesitating every time we're in the ring together," she muttered, making him grin.

* * *

_Hopefully you can see now what I meant earlier and won't hate me for uploading such a short chapter xD_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Sorry about the wait, I was away the past few days, and then I got sick (and still am) but I finally stopped blowing my nose for long enough to post the next chapter. As a reward for waiting so patiently, here's an extra long chapter with tons of stuff going on in it. _

_Thanks again for reading, reviewing, sharing and faving! Of course, if you find any mistakes, please feel free to tell me about them; I want to write the best story I can, but sometimes I type too slow for my brain and miss words or punctuation. Also, any and all criticism is very much welcome, so go ahead with that too :)  
_

_-Jack Knights  
_

* * *

Things went back to normal pretty quickly. Snake wasn't fighting like a wet noodle, though he wasn't any less of a recluse than before. She felt strangely good, having done something to help him out and a bit strange at finding they had some much in common. She'd always thought of him as being her opposite; a skilled fighter, sure, but undisciplined and cocky.

Of course, the bandana was back on his head, and people definitely took notice. There was some whispers of what he did to get it back, or what she wanted in exchange for it. It pissed her off, having even more rumours floating around, but she bit the bullet and ignored them.

Eventually, Peach had approached her on the subject. Samus didn't particularly care for the princess; in contrast to Zelda, she was ditzy and a bit shallow. Normally, she would have given her some non-answer and leave it at that, but it occurred to her that if she wanted a save face with a white lie, there was no better way to do so.

She told the blonde that she'd given it back because she wanted to prove a point. Snake was a notorious pervert, everybody knew or thought that, so it wasn't that much of a stretch that she would trade it for him to lay off completely. The princess looked disappointed with that, so she added that if he ever came near her again, he'd be forced to switch places with her.

It proved effective; within hours the rumours shifted away to Snake and what he'd done to piss her off so badly. Others wondered if he even bother keeping his end of the bargain. Samus felt a little bit of pity at hearing this; the man was honourable, if a little skewered. In the end though, it was her or them, and she chose survival every time.

It wasn't until three days later when she ran into Snake. She hadn't been looking where she'd been walking and ran straight into him. Of course, she stumbled back while he didn't budge an inch. She was about to chew him out when she caught his eye. Hastily, he begged his pardon and walked off, head low. She stood, puzzled for a good minute before she realized people were staring.

It wasn't until later that day that she realized he must have heard the whispers she'd started spreading. Why he'd act upon them, quite convincingly, and help cement them was a mystery. She'd ask Snake, if she ever found him alone, just what the hell he was playing at.

A few days after, Samus was signed up for a tag team match against Ike and Marth—with Snake as her partner. At first she dreaded the thought of partnering up with him. But when she thought about, Samus realized that it wasn't such a bad setup. He was one of the best fighters there and he could definitely hold his own against the two swordsmen.

As she stepped onto the platform, her Power Suit was coloured red, designating her team colour; although to her it looked more pink than red. Snake appeared next to her, his sneak suit patterned in black and red camouflage. They stood in silence while they waited for the match to begin.

Snake cleared his throat. "I'll take on Ike; can you handle Marth?" he asked, eyeing her from beneath his bandana. Samus frowned from behind her visor.

"Of course," she said haughtily. It was a bold faced lie, at least partially. She could keep Marth at bay, but just barely. One slipup and she get knocked out faster than she could spell his name. But she wasn't about to back down now.

"You'll have to keep them occupied while I run for the Smash Ball," she stated. Her Final Smash was easily the most powerful of any the fighters' and everyone knew it. Samus had had this conversation before many times but didn't know why she'd bothered to bring it up now.

Snake chuckled, his gaze trained on the arena as they zoomed in. Their strategy was a simple one, but tried and true. He would smack the heavier opponent around while she knocked the lightweight off. Of course, the other team would try to do the same; they too were a light/heavy weight combo that could fall to that strategy. In the end, it came down to who was faster. And they definitely were.

They were dropped onto the Bridge of Eldin as the countdown started and Samus silently thanked whoever had chosen the arena. Its large, single-level openness worked to her advantage. Marth could prove a problem if he got the Smash Ball though.

The horn blasted and they were off. Snake hit the ground running, dodging around Marth and heading off Ike before he could take more than a few steps. Marth shifted his focus to her without missing a beat and she prepared herself. He was quick and accurate with his sword and could easily counter her moves. It was going to be an uphill battle.

During the beginning of the competition, Samus had been place lower—much lower than eleven. At number thirty-three, she'd fought against the officials' call at every turn, beating as many opponents consecutively as possible. Eventually, she was bumped up one spot, and only because Ganondorf fell to last place.

When they'd introduced the ranked battles, Samus went on to take down Captain Falcon, who at the time was within the top ten. With each battle, she slowly climbed further up the charts and since then, she'd fought to prove her place on that ridiculous list.

But, no matter how many times she went up against him, she'd never been able to take down Marth. Even doing so with a partner was difficult; he was just that good. And now that she was going toe-to-toe with him, Samus struggled to create an opening without giving him a chance to knock her out.

Snake saved her the embarrassment of being the first to lose a life by taking out Ike, but she followed behind within moments. Marth waited patiently for her to reappear on the field, looking smug as he ran his fingers through his hair casually. She knew he was trying to bait her, but it was chipping away at her composure.

Ike managed to break away from Snake and came barrelling at her, catching her off-guard. Between the two swordsmen, it was little wonder she lost another life to their combined assault. Her patience running thin, she charged at Marth, who dodge and countered with a smirk. Suddenly, Snake was there, holding Marth by the neck. With a twist of his wrist, the prince was sent flying out of bounds.

"I thought you could handle him," Snake growled at her as she shot a missile at Ike to keep him at bay.

"I can," she hissed back, turning to face Marth as he reappeared.

"Switch!" he shouted at her, eyes flashing dangerously. Without waiting for an answer, he flipped over her and tackled the blue haired man in midair. The two engaged and with a scowl, she turned her attention to Ike.

The going was much easier now; with his heavy sword and slow movement, they were evenly matched. Dodging him was easy, but if he landed a single blow, it would cause major damage. They traded blows and Samus managed to take Ike's second and third life before without much trouble.

Without warning, her back was sliced repeatedly before she was kicked skyward and off the arena. Somehow, Marth had taken out Snake without her noticing it. She tried to calm herself on the little platform as she watched Snake drop down like a bomb.

Despite his aggressive fighting, Marth seemed to be up to the task of beating Snake back. His speed was his greatest attribute and Snake was weighed down by all his gear. Eventually, he lost a second, and then a third life to the prince. It soon became evident to Samus that were going to lose if something drastic didn't happen and soon.

After being knocked back by Ike's massive sword, Samus reappeared onstage, electrified with the energy of a Smash Ball. Everyone took notice, especially Snake, who grinned wickedly; he grabbed Ike by his lapels and threw him bodily at Marth, bowling the two of them over. Silently thanking him for the opening, Samus released her Final Smash.

As her armour fell off and Snake dashed to her side, it was announced that Ike was the first fighter out. Now it was her turn to grin; now it was two against one and they both had two lives. With Ike gone, they could focus on Marth and actually stand a chance at winning.

"Good job," he congratulated, offering her a hand in getting up. Without thinking, she took it, surprising the both of them.

"_Chūiwoharau_!" Marth shouted, as he dropped from the sky. Samus jumped up, but Marth closed the distance between them before she get away. He slashed at her, but the attack never connected. Suddenly, Snake was there, taking the hit for her.

Although they couldn't cut flesh, swords still hurt like hell and Samus could see it on Snake's face as he flew across the ground and off of the arena. She landed and stared as the soldier flew off the stage. Marth flashed a smile and struck a pose, the crowd going wild, chanting his name.

Gritting her teeth, Samus flipped over backwards and out of reach as Marth came at her. A horn rung in the distance and the ground under their feet trembled as the King of the Bulblins raced over the bridge on his massive boar towards them. Samus lashed out with her whip, causing Marth to jump backwards out of reach, and straight into the path of the rampaging monster.

He got knocked into the air by the boar as it passed center stage and dropped an explosive barrel on the bridge. Marth caught himself as he landed, rolling away as it detonated, causing the center of the bridge to fall away into the abyss below. On the opposite side of the gap, Samus got to her feet as Snake re-joined them, now on his last life.

Normally, they would have been an excellent team. Hell, Snake could have probably taken him on his own. But things were far from normal. Every time Samus left an opening, Snake would dash in front of her and take the hit. Sure, they landed blows on the blue haired prince, but he gave them two for everyone they landed on him.

Without warning, while they were crowded on the far side of the bridge, Marth soared into the air, blade slashing upwards without warning. Samus hadn't caught the flash of light, but Snake had; he jumped in front of her, taking the full brunt of the hit and was sent flying.

Snake would have been fine if they hadn't been so close to the edge of the stage, but the knockback was too great and he lost his last life. The worst was he hadn't needed to. Samus had barely received any damage and would have survived.

Growing angry at how easily Marth was playing their weaknesses, she latched on to him with her whip and sent electricity surging through it, exploding him backwards. He rolled with the hit midair and landed on his feet, looking smug.

"_Sore wa chōdo anatatowatashi ima_," he said to her and Samus frowned; she didn't speak Japanese and for all she knew, he could have been calling her a pissant. She narrowed her eyes at him regardless and

"Share Stock!" the announcer shouted from hidden speakers and Samus looked skyward, expecting to see Ike hurtling towards her a comet. To her ever growing surprise and immense irritation, Snake reappeared and, catching Marth completely off-guard, connected a powerful kick with both legs at his face, knocking him out of the arena.

In all the times she'd been in a tag team match, no one had ever shared a life with her or her with them. She'd pretty much forgotten about being able to do so, like most of the other fighters probably had. And when she felt the effects of having a life stolen from her, she wanted to puke. It was nauseating and left her feeling winded and weak. No wonder anybody but Ganondorf ever used it. She felt sorry for his partners.

"Looks like I came just in the nick of time," Snake said gruffly. Samus assumed he was talking about taking out Marth, but when she looked at him, he was watching her intently. Swallowing the urge to throw up, she steadied herself and glared at him.

"Focus on the match," she snarled, switching her pistol to whip mode as Marth approached them. She refused to let him think she was frail and ran to take the prince on herself. She managed to push Marth back to the center of the arena before he countered and sent her sprawling. Snake immediately dove in from behind and pummelled him with fists and weaponry.

When she got to her feet, Snake began chucking grenades at him. She ran at Marth and swept at his feet, intending to knock him down. But he jumped over and behind her, slashing at her back and sending her into the path of Snake's grenades. The look of surprise on his face would have been funny if the situation wasn't about cause her an immense amount of pain.

There were a couple of things one had to remember about fighting with a partner. Watch their movements and work with them. When they struggle, help them unless you are overwhelmed. Avoid getting hit by them the minute the get sent flying into you. But most importantly, you had to remember that anything even remotely explosive they threw in your direction would hurt you as well as your opponent.

The grenade bounced once and reached the peak of its arc before detonating in front of Samus's face. The explosion wouldn't normally knock anyone offstage, unless they were highly damaged, which at that point, she was. With a wordless shout, she was sent sky-high and out of bounds.

When she reappeared, she wasn't mad. She wasn't furious either. Actually, there hadn't been a word invented yet to describe how murderous she was feeling. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, the logical part of her brain was shouting at her, but it was small and being stepped on by rage.

She dove at Marth, hitting him like with the force of a mountain. She became erratic and unpredictable, her whip lashing at him in quick successive slashes. Snake stood at the other side of the arena, looking dumbfounded.

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" she shouted at him, breaking his reverie. He dove at Marth, dodged his sword and took out his missile launcher, training it at the prince's feet.

Just as Samus backed away, a paralysing shot charged in her pistol, Marth smirked. Too late she realized their mistake. He countered their attacks and grabbed Samus by the arm, throwing her at Snake. She expected a painful collision with the wall of a man, but he caught her instead.

She stared at him, completely dumbfounded. Hastily, he put her back on her feet and she opened her mouth to saying something when a flash of light cut her off. Out of nowhere a Smash Ball appeared, hovering in the middle of the stage. Her outrage at Snake forgotten, Samus scrambled to reach the orb.

She managed to hit it once, sending it high into the air. As she landed, she noticed Marth dashing for it from the opposite side of the arena. Their eyes connected and he smirked at her scowl. Knowing whoever got it first would be handed victory, they raced each other. Without a second thought, Samus charged at it.

Samus jumped out of the way as the prince aimed his sword at her. Eyes on the little ball of light, she slashed at it again, but was unable to break it. Twisting in midair to follow the Smash Ball she spied Snake engage Marth and fail spectacularly. In all fairness, CQC was hardly a suitable tactic for going up against someone with a sword.

In retrospect, she should have seen the move coming. She shouldn't have been so surprised when Marth grabbed Snake by his harness and chuck him at her as she fell through the air. They collided with one another midair and hit the ground hard.

She just managed to get Snake off of her and as Marth reached the Smash Ball, immediately executing his Critical Hit. It was an aptly named attack; he hit them so hard they practically exploded out of the arena. The match ended with their defeat, crowning Marth and Ike the victors.

* * *

_I thought about adding the next bit in, but with everything going on in the fight scene, I decided to cut it out :3 You'll get it soon though, I promise._

_Also, for anyone who doesn't speak Japanese, this is what Marth was saying:  
_

_**-Chuiwoharau:** Pay attention!  
**-Sore wa chodo anatatowatashi ima:** It's just you and I now._

_I figured since he still only speaks in Japanese in Brawl, I'd give it a go at keeping that in my TSatC universe. However, I realize that I suck at Japanese, so Marth doesn't show up too often, nor does he have much dialogue. So any Japanese speakers out there, you will be saved further insult!  
_

___And lastly, a very special thanks goes out to **TheWordMasterOfFiction** for her very nice and lengthy review; it's nice to know who your readers are and that they're enjoying it :D She's got some good stuff herself, (I recommend One Last Time), so go check her out._


End file.
